New Saskatoon Housing Project Offers A Safe, Affordable Home for Individuals with Complex Needs

The Governments of Canada and Saskatchewan, along with Lighthouse Supported Living Inc., officially opened seven spaces of much-needed affordable rental housing with support services for individuals with complex needs in Saskatoon.

Ralph Goodale, Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness, on behalf of Jean-Yves Duclos, Minister of Families, Children and Social Development and Minister Responsible for Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC), Social Services Minister and Minister Responsible for Saskatchewan Housing Corporation (SHC) Paul Merriman, City of Saskatoon Mayor Charlie Clark, and Lighthouse Supported Living Inc. Executive Director Don Windels, made the announcement today.

“Through investments in affordable housing, our government is providing assistance to those who need it most here in Saskatoon and in all corners of the country,” said Goodale. “Because of critical support services provided by The Lighthouse, seven people here will have a chance to stabilize their lives and begin their journey toward greater independence. We are committed to making communities stronger through projects like these.”

“Thanks to strong partnerships, seven individuals with complex needs will have the supports they need to maintain permanent housing and work toward a better quality of life,” Merriman said. “This home builds upon our government’s strategies to ensure safe, quality homes are available to those in greatest need. We will continue to work with our partners to achieve this goal and keep Saskatchewan strong.”

”Safe and secure housing is fundamentally important to everyone, and this home in Saskatoon will help some of our fellow Saskatoon citizens achieve this and work toward an improved quality of life,” Clark said. ”Chronic homelessness is a serious problem in Saskatoon and beyond, but it is a problem that can be addressed through partnerships and collaboration. I would like to offer my thanks to the federal and provincial governments for making this investment in Saskatoon and to Lighthouse Supported Living for providing valuable supports to the residents.”

“As we continue to partner with so many other great agencies, it’s good to see the three levels of government come together to also partner with The Lighthouse to ensure seven more individuals with complex needs have a place to truly call home,” Windels said.

Quick facts:

The federal and provincial governments, through CMHC and SHC, are jointly contributing up to $262,000 toward the seven-unit project under the cost-sharing Investment in Affordable Housing (IAH) Agreement. This investment supports the province’s Mental Health and Addictions Action Plan goal to increase community capacity to support people living with persistent and complex mental health and addictions issues, including housing and intensive team based supports. It also supports the Saskatchewan Housing Strategy and Poverty Reduction Strategy goal of ensuring Saskatchewan people have affordable, safe, secure and stable housing.

The City of Saskatoon has provided approximately $39,000 in funding to this project through their Affordable Housing Capital Contribution program.

Located at 119 Avenue O South, the project consists of a 247.5 square metre (2,665 square foot) two-unit house with a total of seven bedrooms, two kitchens, four bathrooms, and an office for the peer support worker.

The tenants are individuals who experience complex needs and are unable to find or maintain secure housing without support services. Supports will be provided by the Lighthouse Supported Living Inc.

Associated links:

As Canada's authority on housing, CMHC contributes to the stability of the housing market and financial system, provides support for Canadians in housing need, and offers unbiased housing research and advice to all levels of Canadian government, consumers and the housing industry. For more information, please call 1-800-668-2642 or follow us on Twitter, YouTube, LinkedIn and Facebook.

In October 2012, the Government of Saskatchewan released the Saskatchewan Plan for Growth: Vision 2020 and Beyond, which sets out the government’s vision for a province of 1.2 million people by 2020. The plan identifies principles, goals and actions to ensure Saskatchewan is capturing the opportunities and meeting the challenges of a growing province. Since 2007, the Government of Saskatchewan has invested more than $770 million to develop or repair almost 16,000 housing units across our province. To learn more, visit www.saskatchewan.ca.

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